Alexander Johnson, better known as the “VR Kid,” is a BHS sophomore who has recently caught his peers’ attention by playing an activity-based virtual reality rhythm game called Beat Saber during 4th lunch. 

“Yes [the game] does relieve stress, but honestly, I just play it as a form of additional exercise,” he said. “I’m taking band as a gym credit, but I still feel like I should have some other form of exercise. And since I have a VR headset and the school has nothing against playing electronics during lunch, [I play] Beat Saber.”

Johnson believes that virtual reality is pretty realistic nowadays, but he is confident that with rapid advancements in technology, it will get even better. 

“Every day, we make more advances [so that players can] actually feel what’s going on and realistic grabbing systems,” he said. “There’s even an update where you don’t even need controllers, just your hands.” 

Alexander also expressed his concerns in the stereotypes in virtual reality, and how they are actually a bit misleading. 

“A lot of people’s knowledge of virtual reality is basically from sci-fi movies like Ready Player One, The Matrix, and stuff like that,” he said. “In all honesty, it’s not that realistic, especially in Ready Player One. It’s fair to say that not many people really know about virtual reality.” 

Alexander encourages others to try virtual reality gaming.

“Yes, I’d like to see more people get into virtual reality, possibly just to play Beat Saber,” he said.